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No plans for Agni-III or Surya, claims Fernandes

India does not propose to develop an Agni III with an enhanced range of 3,500 kilometres, or the inter-continental ballistic missile Surya, with a range of over 8,400 km, Defence Minister George Fernandes has said.

Asked by the Japanese newspaper Mainichi shimbun whether India was developing Agni III, Fernandes said, ''The defence ministry has not got into any such plan so far.''

The Janes Defence Weekly had recently reported that the country was developing Agni III after having tested Agni II.

''These are all speculative reports and there is no substance in it,'' the defence minister said.

Regarding reports about Surya, he said, ''This is again purely based on conjectures.''

He said Agni II had reached a stage where it could be 'productionised.' "We have not yet decided any timeframe for production. We will decide about it in course of time because proper evaluation of our security concerns has to be made.''

On the issue of minimum credible deterrence, Fernandes stressed the doctrine of nuclear 'no first use' and the ongoing confidence-building measures with Pakistan and China to create a ground for an agreement on this issue.

''India has already proclaimed that it will never be the first to use nuclear weapons. Our strategy is to persuade them (China and Pakistan) to debate this issue and come to a similar agreement. And if they do that then I do not see any reason for us to think in terms of any long range missiles,'' he said.

He described Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's historic bus ride to Lahore and the resumed meetings of the India-China joint working group as positive steps to create better understanding with Islamabad and Beijing.

Asked whether India would go ahead with sub-critical nuclear tests, the defence minister said, ''As far as we are concerned, we have made it very clear that we will not go for any tests... Our capability to produce is now established.''

Questioned on the nuclear submarine programme, Sagarika, he said: ''We do not have any such submarine programme.''

He said discussions were still on for acquiring the Russian-made aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. ''There are many loose ends to be tied. We are very keen to have that aircraft carrier.''

The minister denied any negotiations with Russia for acquiring an anti-ballistic missile defence system. ''India is capable of developing its own missile defence system,'' he said.

Fernandes denied the charge that the government had backtracked from its declaration that it would take a decision on exercising the nuclear option after a strategic defence review. ''We had mentioned our intention to conduct nuclear tests in our agenda for governance. At no point of time did we say that the strategic defence review will show us the way,'' he said.

UNI

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